What Once We Loved by Jane Kirkpatrick

Author:Jane Kirkpatrick [Kirkpatrick, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-307-55328-7
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 2001-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

12

Suzanne had almost forgotten about joy. How strange that was when she had a son named Sason whose very name meant joy. Even when she'd thought about the first-century Jews as Sister Esther read to her in the book of Acts, she'd forgotten about their joy. The joy of being with friends. The delight of eating together, of supporting each other while they waited. And then the Holy Spirit had touched them, and others who saw them accused them of being drunk! At nine-thirty in the morning! Why, they were just happy, ravenous with delight at the power they'd been given, the power of friendship and compassion and hope.

Then, it had come back to her, God's gift of joy, a thing she'd never conceived she could have again as a woman blind, a widow in mourning.

Oh, she certainly didn't speak in any unknown language as those disciples had. Unless words of endearment coupled with dreams about one's future lifting like bubbles from a bottle of champagne counted as strange language. But she felt the fullness of the joy just the same, feasting with friends and food and being loved beyond measure. She believed again that all could be accomplished with faith and power and a worthy focus. Focus. Hearth. That which warms us, the center of our being. And she'd felt that in a way she had never imagined she ever would again. She'd given her heart to it. She'd believed.

True joy had arrived before Christmas. It came in the form of a bawling bull attached to a very wet-smelling man and the embrace of a fond friend.

“Just give me a bed. To lay my head,” he'd rhymed.

“Seth Forrester?”

“None other.” Suzanne heard him stomp his feet. “And Mazy Bacon, too.”

“Mazy! So good to see you! However did you get away from all those cows?”

“May I help you?” Sterling Powder said. She hadn't heard him enter the hallway at all, but he was standing at Suzanne's left.

“These are our dear friends,” Suzanne told him, turning. “Sterling Powder, please meet Seth Forrester and Mrs. Bacon. Dear old friends.”

“Not so old,” Seth said. “Though I like the ‘dear' part.” She heard Seth groan, “You've grown a foot, Clayton.”

“Mr. Powder's been tutoring the boys,” she said. “And they're doing so well. Aren't you, Clayton?”

Mazy laughed. “Clayton just looked to see if he had more than two legs.”

“Did a bit of tutoring myself,” Seth said.

“Did you now?” Sterling Powder answered. Suzanne heard something unpleasant in his voice.

“Yes sir. With little Chinese girls.”

“I'm sure,” Sterling said.

“He did. They learned very well,” Suzanne defended. “Maybe we can see them while you're here. You know where Mei-Ling lives. We haven't found Naomi—”

“Let me take your wet cloaks,” Esther offered.

Suzanne heard shuffling. “Clayton's voice is very deep, but he puts a few words together now. Can you get Clayton to say something, Mr. Powder?”

“He is not a circus dog, madam,” Sterling said.

“Of course not. I only meant… Well, I—”

“Perhaps I should retire now, leave you with your…friends,” Sterling said.

“As you wish,” Suzanne said.

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